One More Chance
by angelsinstead
Summary: In this story, Blair and Marty are sisters. Marty goes to Blair for help as she escapes a life of pain and violence. What shocking secrets will be revealed when Marty tries to deal with her husband's anger issues? This story deals with the subject of domestic violence.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE ::: This is story includes several OLTL characters as well as their storylines. This story is based off the hit soap One Life to Livel, yet the "history" has been changed somewhat to suit the purposes of this story.

Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's One Life to Live or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only. This story is AU.

In this particular story, Marty and Blair are sisters.

*~o~*

When she woke up the apartment was dark and silent, like a quiet tomb. He was gone. She gingerly crawled out of bed and hurriedly got dressed. She grabbed a few of her clothing items and tossed them into a suitcase.

"Come on, baby. Wake up," she said as she stood over her son's little bed. "Hurry, honey, we gotta go."

"Where are we going, Mommy?" asked little Christopher. He was far too little to comprehend their escape. He didn't know any different. This was his world- the only one he had ever known.

"We gotta hurry, baby," Marty said as she threw a few of Christopher's items into her suitcase.

Christopher climbed out of bed wearing his bright-red Spiderman jammies. He picked up his favorite stuffed animal that he had christened Floppy Bear. The brown bear was really worn and his stuffing was falling out, but to Christopher Thomas Manning, he was his best friend.

"Are you taking me to school, Mommy?" the little boy asked. "Is that where we are going?"

"No, honey. We are going to see Auntie Blair and your cousin Starr. Won't that be fun?" Marty said as she took the hand of her six-year-old son. Carrying her suitcase in her other hand, she started to leave the apartment. With one last look at the smashed in walls and the scores of broken furniture, Marty spoke a silent 'good-bye.'

They arrived at the train station and boarded the morning train to Llansing, Pennsylvania. Marty knew her sister Blair would be greatly surprised when she unexpectedly showed up at her door. She had purposely been avoiding her family for months because she didn't want them to know. Her life had gotten out of control, and she was leaving the man she loved. She was leaving him because she didn't know what else to do.

She looked down at her feet to see she was still wearing her house slippers. She had ran away in just her slippers. She wanted to laugh, but instead, she could only cry. What would he do when he came home? Todd would be furious. She hadn't even left a note. She had packed up and left their marriage with little more than a backward glance.

As the train took off from the station, Christopher chattered on and on in his seat. "Mommy, look... it's the cemetery..." the six-year-old said.

Marty's eyes caught briefly on a tiny grave in the distance. Due to the movement of the train, she had only seen a glimpse of it. Her jaw clenched while hot tears slid her eyes. Reflexively, she clutched her cheek where the bruises had healed.

A memory came back to her, tragic, haunted, and laden with pain...

"Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"It's all your fault that this has happened. Because of YOU, our daughter is dead," she accused him tearfully.

"No, I never meant to hurt you," he implored her. "Please believe me."

"You always hurt me, Todd. That's all you ever do."

"I won't. I promise you. I never will again."

But sadly, he had lied. 


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE ::: This is story includes several OLTL characters as well as their storylines. This story is based off the hit soap One Life to Livel, yet the "history" has been changed somewhat to suit the purposes of this story.

Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's One Life to Live or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only. This story is AU.

In this particular story, Marty and Blair are sisters.

*~o~*

Marty held Christopher's hand in hers as they arrived in Llansing. Her heart was clenched in agony as she said good-bye to Llanview. Despite knowing it was the right thing to do, she continued to ache with her decision. "Why didn't Daddy come with us?" Christopher asked as he held his Floppy Bear.

Tears pricked at Marty's eyes. "Daddy had to work, honey," Marty stated. She had always tried to make her son's life as normal as possible, although it was not. Now that Chris was six, he was starting to recognize all the ugliness Marty had tried to keep hidden from him.

"Daddy was mad at you, Mommy. He called you a dirty sl-," Christopher reminded.

"Don't you ever say that word, Christopher," Marty warned her son. "It's a VERY bad word... and Daddy shouldn't have said it."

"I am sorry, Mommy. I didn't know it was a bad word."

Then sadly he added, "Daddy always says bad words..."

"I know, baby," Marty said as she kissed his cheek. She took his little hand in hers as they left the train together.

Not even fifteen minutes later, they had arrived at Blair's house. Marty stood there in her slippers, knocking on the door. The door opened, and there stood Marty's sister.

"Marty!" Blair gasped in surprise. "What... what are you doing here?"

She looked down at little Chris. "Where's Todd?" Blair asked.

"I left him. Can we come in?" Marty asked.

"Yes! Come on in," Blair said as she moved aside and Marty and Chris entered Blair's house. Starr came down the staircase, smiling happily when she saw Christopher.

"Christopher, you're here!" five-year-old Starr said with excitement. "Let's play!"

Chris ran off to play with his cousin. After the children had left the room, Blair began questioning Marty. "Why did you leave Todd?" Blair asked. "Did something happen?"

Marty nodded as her lower lip trembled. She tried to talk, but no words would come out. As the tears began to fall, Marty went into her sister's arms.

"What did he do, Marty?" Blair asked as she stroked her sister's hair.

Marty pulled away from the hug as she looked into Blair's caring amber eyes. She could tell her... and it would be allright, wouldn't it? Ohhh God, she longed to tell someone... but she was so afraid.

"Todd... and I... He-," she stammered.

"Marty, please... why did you leave Todd?" Blair demanded.

Marty trembled as she clasped her sister's hand. "You have to help me, Blair. Promise you'll let us stay here... me and Christopher."

"I promise, Sis," Blair said as she looked down to see Marty was wearing her slippers. "Something bad happened, didn't it? Something really bad..."

Marty nodded. "Todd thinks I'm cheating on him..." Marty spoke in a whisper.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE ::: This is story includes several OLTL characters as well as their storylines. This story is based off the hit soap One Life to Livel, yet the "history" has been changed somewhat to suit the purposes of this story.

Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's One Life to Live or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only. This story is AU.

In this particular story, Marty and Blair are sisters.

*~o~*

Blair's eyes widened when she heard Marty's words. "Todd's out of his mind. You'd never cheat on him," Blair stated.

"That's right. I never would. I love Todd," Marty said, her voice trembling.

Blair helped her sister sit down and got her a glass of tea with lots of sugar, just the way Marty liked it. "Don't you worry, Marty. I'll go talk to Todd. I'll make everything right."

"No, you can't!" Marty cried out urgently. Marty looked terrified at the thought of Blair going to talk to Todd.

"Marty, someone needs to go back to your place and get some of your things. You're in your slippers," Blair reminded gently.

"O- okay," Marty said uneasily. "But be careful, Blair, okay?"

"Why?" Blair asked as she stroked Marty's hair.

"Todd might get... angry..."

"Yeah, he probably will, but I can handle him. Don't you worry," Blair said soothingly.

*~o~*

Later that evening, Todd arrived home to find that Marty and their son were no where in sight. Their house was destroyed with broken dishes and furniture strewn everywhere. He stared at the holes in the wall where his fists had punched through the plaster. Lately Marty hadn't even bothered to clean any of it up. It was as if she had just stopped caring. Her change in behavior had worried him. He had been certain she was having an affair. She hadn't even seemed to want him anymore... not since...

"Todd?" came the voice of Blair Cramer, Marty's sister. Blair came out of the bedroom, carrying one of Marty's packed suitcases. In her other hand, she grasped several sheets of paper.

"What's this?" Blair demanded as she showed Todd the hospital records she had found in Marty's dresser. "Ohhh my God, Todd! You didn't!"

"What do you have?" Todd asked as he tried to rip the papers from Blair's hand.

"My sister's hospital records!" Blair cried out as she kept him from taking them. "You're an abusive pig!"

"Look, I- I can explain everything," Todd said with a heavy sigh.

"Can you?" Blair said angrily. "Why did you do it, Todd? Why?"

"Because I got scared. Scared that Marty would discover the truth- Scared that she would leave me... I was so scared, Blair, that I completely fucked up. I really fucked everything up," Todd said sadly.

"What did you do?" Blair demanded.

Todd's voice trembled as he began to spill out his soul. "I forced myself on her. I forced myself on the woman I love..."

Blair's eyes widened in horror. "That's not all..." Todd spoke sorrowfully.

"What else did you do to my sister?" asked Blair.

"I got her pregnant..." Todd replied.

"Ohhh my God!" came Blair's painful gasp. 


	4. Chapter 4

***~Chapter Four~***

"I knew that Marty was devastated because of Soleil's death. I thought that her depression was the direct result of losing her infant daughter, but now I know there is so much more," said Blair as she stared at Todd in disgust. "You did this, Todd! YOU!"

"Yes, I am to blame. During my anger, I forced myself on Marty and she got pregnant. And not long after our daughter's birth, she died... and Marty has suffered so much because of me," Todd said in a pain-filled voice. "I am so tired of hurting her, Blair. I want it to stop. I want things to be different."

"It IS going to stop. She's not going back to you. EVER," Blair said in a steely voice. "It's over, Todd... and it's time we told Marty the truth. The truth that I have been wanting to tell her for all these years."

"I can't tell her. She'll hate me."

"You HAVE to tell her, Todd. Because if you don't. I will," Blair warned.

"No, no. I will tell her," Todd insisted. "Let me tell her."

"No!" Blair cried out in protest... but it was too late. Todd had already burst out the door. He was going to Marty, and Blair couldn't stop him. Marty was all alone in the house with the kids, and Todd was on his way. Grabbing the suitcases in her hands, Blair rushed out the door. She hoped she could get there before Todd got to Marty.

Minutes later when Blair arrived at the train station, she discovered that she was five minutes too late. The train had left and Todd was on it. He was on his way to Llansing. He'd be arriving in about an hour. Blair had no other choice but to sit down and wait for the next train to leave the station.

*~o~*

An urgent knocking had brought Marty to the door. She freaked out when she opened the door and found out it was Todd. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I'm here for you. You're coming home with me, Marty. Get Chris and his things and let's go," Todd insists.

"I'm not going anywhere with you. It's over."

"It will never be over," Todd said as he grabbed her in a steely grip.


	5. Chapter 5

***~Chapter Five~***

"Let go of me, Todd!" Marty yelled. She tried to wrench her arm away from his tight hold, but Todd wasn't about to let her get away.

She had just put Starr and Christopher down for the night. She hoped that her niece and son wouldn't awaken to overhear her argument with Todd. It hadn't been easy soothing Christopher and getting him to sleep. The last thing she needed was for her son to become anymore upset.

"I'm NOT leaving! Not till you talk to me. Marty, I'm gonna get some help. I'll go to counseling... so it doesn't happen again. I promise I won't hurt you. I just want you and Chris to come home."

"No way!" she responded as she managed to tear her arm free. "I have heard all of your promises before, and you've NEVER changed!"

"I swear to you, this time will be different!"

"Why?"

"Because I LOVE you, Marty - with ALL of my heart! And I don't wanna lose you," Todd said in a pleading voice. "Please, babe, just give me one more chance."

Just then, Blair rushed into the foyer and overheard the last part of their discussion. "Todd, get out," Blair insisted. "Leave Marty alone."

Todd crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Blair. "I'm not leaving," he stated.

"Alright, then you tell Marty the truth."

"The truth about what?" Marty asked in confusion.

She set her gaze onto Todd as she demanded answers. Todd stared back at her, hesitant to speak. Finally, with much effort, he managed to tell her what he had been holding back for so long.

"Marty, I'm sorry," he revealed. "But I... cheated on you."


	6. Chapter 6

***~Chapter Six~***

"What?" Marty said in a gasp as disbelief settled on her features. "You cheated on me?"

"Yes, Marty... and I'm sorry."

"Who? Who was it, Todd?" Marty choked out in a sob. The pain was so horrific that it felt as though Todd had just stabbed her in the chest.

"It... it was Blair," Todd stated softly, his voice just barely above a whisper.

"No!" Marty cried out as though her heart was breaking.

Marty couldn't even look at her sister. Not now. She'd totally lose it. She continued to question Todd.

"When did ... it happen?"

"It was a terrible time," Todd replied with a heavy sigh. "You were pregnant with Christopher and hospitalized. The doctors said - they said ... they didn't think that you and our baby would survive..."

"So, Blair 'comforted' you?" Marty spoke with disgust.

"Yes. No! Marty, please-."

"I can't believe this!" Marty suddenly screamed. As her tears rushed from her eyes, she slapped Todd across the face. She then turned her anger onto Blair.

"How could you do this to me? How could you sleep with my husband?" Marty demanded.

"Marty, listen to me," Todd pleaded. He stepped between her and Blair and placed his hand lightly on hers. "I never wanted you to know. I didn't want you to leave me. That's why I clung to you so tightly. That's why I always thought you were cheating... because I cheated on you, and I thought deep down, that I deserved to feel that kind pain. I deserved to have you cheat on me and leave me."

"But I never cheated on you, Todd!" she exclaimed. "Not once!"

"Marty," Blair spoke up. "There's something else you should know..."

"What else could there be?" Marty demanded. "Are you still sleeping with my husband?"

Blair shook her head. "No, I'm not. It was only a one-time thing," she replied. "It only happened that once and it was terrible mistake. But there were consequences..."

"Marty, Starr is my daughter," Todd revealed.

Looking at Todd in a state of shock, Marty collapsed. Todd caught her in his arms and carried her over to the couch. "I'm so sorry," he said lovingly as he gazed at her face.

"She'll never forgive us," Blair said sadly.

"You're right. I won't," Marty said as she opened her eyes and glared at them.


	7. Chapter 7

***~Chapter Seven~***

"Marty, please... We need to talk. There is so much I need to say," Todd implored.

"No, Todd. There's nothing left to say. I ... I gotta go..." Marty said as she sat up on the couch. She felt so much confusion. She didn't know where she was going or what she was going to do. Her beloved sister and her husband had both betrayed her, and she felt she had no one left to turn to.

"Marty, you can't leave," Blair stated. "Christopher is upstairs in bed. Please stay. We can work things out."

"Work things out? Blair, you slept with my husband! You lied about it for YEARS!" Marty cried out. "You told me that Max Holden was Starr's father."

"I never said that," Blair said quietly.

"You never specifically said it, but you let me believe it," Marty said as tears swam in her eyes. "I can't stay here now. I am leaving the first thing tomorrow morning."

"Where will you go?" Blair asked.

"She's going home with me," Todd said. "Marty, get your things."

"No, Todd!" Marty exclaimed. "What part of 'No!' do you not comprehend?! I am NOT going home with you! I won't be your punching bag anymore! I need to think of our son!"

"Goddammit, Marty. I'm going to try to change. I am going to go to counseling. I will do whatever it takes to get you back. I need you."

"You've said that before."

"I know, but this time I mean it. I love you. And I am going to fight for us. I am going to get you back. I will fight forever if I have to."

Marty just stared him, not knowing what to say. Her pain was so deep, considering he had cheated and impregnated her sister. All this time, Todd had been cruel to her, all because he could not deal with his own betrayal. She had loved him with all her heart and soul, and all he had done was hurt her.

"I'm not ready to talk yet," she stated. "I want you to leave."

"Alright," Todd said with a heavy sigh. "I will leave, but I am not giving up on us. I am going to make things right. I promise."

Marty just shook her head. She'd heard his promises before. She wouldn't allow herself to believe him. She wouldn't let him hurt her again.

Blair walked Todd to the front door. "Give her some time," Blair said. "She's hurting so much."

"I know... and I am the cause of her pain."

"Todd, I know you love her... but I honestly don't know if there's anything you can do or say to make this better. We've both betrayed her and sadly she may never forgive us."

"I am going to show Marty I can be a better man. I will do whatever is necessary to get her back. I promise you that," Todd said before he walked out the door.

"Good luck," Blair uttered as she watched him go.


	8. Chapter 8

***~Chapter Eight~***

As soon as Todd left, Marty began to gather Christopher's things. "Marty, you can't go," Blair pleaded. "Chris is already in bed; sound asleep. He's just a baby and he's already been through far much. Please don't disturb him."

"Blair, I can't stay here. Not after I know that you slept with my husband," Marty said. "What hurts the most is that you kept it from me for all of these years. Todd is Starr's father."

"Todd begged me not to tell you. I knew you loved him. I knew you were happy," Blair said with tears in her eyes. "I couldn't bear to hurt you anymore."

"Well, you did hurt me... and Todd hurt me even worse. Because he cheated, he became this vicious monster, intent on punishing me for his own actions. Well, I won't be his punching bag anymore. And I won't stay here with you," Marty said angrily as she gathered up all of the luggage which belonged to her and Chris.

Marty then rushed upstairs and got Chris out of bed. "Where are we going, Mommy?" Chris asked as she carefully dressed him and helped him put on his jacket.

"We are going to stay the night in a motel," Marty answered, trying to make her voice sound light and nonchalant.

"Why, Mommy?" asked Chris. "Was Daddy here? I thought I heard his voice downstairs. You were fighting again."

"It's okay, baby. Daddy was here... but you don't need to worry. We were talking loudly, but we didn't have a fight."

"Is Daddy making us come home now?"

"No, honey. We aren't going home with your daddy again. We weren't safe there anymore."

"Don't you love my daddy?" Chris asked as he wrapped his little arms around her neck.

"I love him; I'll always love him... but I don't want to fight with him anymore," Marty stated. "Now let's get to the motel so we can both get some sleep."

"I don't want to go. I wanna stay with Starr," Chris said sleepily.

"I know, Christopher, but we gotta go," Marty said as she carried him downstairs.

Blair watched as Marty set Chris down on his feet in the foyer and grabbed all of her bags. "Won't you at least let me drive you to the nearest motel?" Blair asked sorrowfully.

"No, Blair... you've done enough," Marty said. "Good night."

With those words, Marty left Blair's and walked with Chris four blocks to a run-down motel. It wasn't the best of accomidations, but Marty absolutely refused to stay with her sister under the current circumstances. She and Christopher would have to make do on their own. Tomorrow she would get Chris enrolled in school, then she would start looking for a job.

*We'll be okay,* she told herself as she paid the lady at the front desk of the motel for a full week's stay.

She was scared to death as the lady handed her the keys. "You'll be in room 214," the lady said with a smile. "There's plenty of towels and cable T.V."

"Thanks," Marty said as she reached for her little boy.

Her greatest fear was that Todd would find her at the motel and he would attempt to force her to return to Llanview with him. She knew that if she returned home with her husband, the cycle of violence would resume. It had happened that way far too many times... and she had the scars to prove it.

*Please don't let him hurt me again,* Marty silently prayed.


End file.
